An urban tree inventory was identified as one of the top strategies in the Urban Forestry Section of Hawaii’s Forest Action Plan. There is no formal inventory of trees currently being used in Hawai‘i, which can hinder efforts to manage, maintain, replace trees, and plan for disasters in the urban forest. Another key strategy in Hawaii’s Forest Action Plan (FAP) is improving the public perception of the value and benefits of urban trees. The Citizen Forester program looks to address these strategies by engaging communities in their urban forests through the use of citizen science to develop an urban tree inventory.

The Citizen Forester program trains and supports community volunteers to collect urban tree inventory data. Certified Arborists support the volunteers and ensure quality control of the data. Volunteers work in small teams with a trained Team Leader to collect data. Meet-ups take place weekly or more often depending on interest and availability.

The program was piloted in 2016 in the town of Kailua and is now expanding to new communities. Volunteers in Kailua have inventoried and mapped over 4,000 trees and continue to collect data on a weekly basis. The project includes a systematic inventory of City trees in urban areas, such as along commercial and residential streets and in parks..

This is a collaborative project of federal, state, and city partners, including: the State and Private Forestry branch of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Region 5; the Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife; and the Urban Forestry Division of the City and County of Honolulu.

Missed our recent training sessions? It’s not too late! You can enroll at any time and we will mentor you.

Although, often overlooked – street trees are important.

Our City & State Urban Forestry Programs regulate street tree plantings, removals, tree care and maintenance which requires an accurate record of our public trees.

Kaulunani is working to improve the Hawaii’s records to show:

where our trees are located

which ones need attention

and what benefits they provide

Our inventory directly aids in city planning, environmental impact and public health assessments while increasing community awareness of the benefits of trees. We also assess areas where trees are needed the most and work to increase green infrastructure.

With an accurate inventory we are able to save time and taxpayers dollars when managing our urban forest!